Top 10 dishes to try in Greece

Steeped in history and lapped by the Mediterranean sea, Greece is home to some of the finest ingredients in the world. Sample them in a traditional Greek dish along with a glass of ouzo.

Greece has long been a family holiday favourite with its beautiful blue waters, child-friendly beaches and abundance of flavour-packed fare. Make sure you sample all the country has to offer with our pick of delicious dishes…

Don’t leave Greece without trying…

Taramasalata

A mainstay of any Greek meal are classic dips such as tzatziki (yogurt, cucumber and garlic),melitzanosalata (aubergine), and fava (creamy split pea purée). But the delectable taramasalata (fish roe dip) is a must. This creamy blend of pink or white fish roe with either a potato or bread base is best with a drizzle of virgin olive oil or a squeeze of lemon.

Olives & olive oil

Greeks have been cultivating olives for millennia…some even say that Athena gave an olive tree to the city of Athens, thus winning its favour. Greek meals are accompanied by local olives, some cured in a hearty sea salt brine, others like wrinkly throubes, eaten uncured from the tree. Similarly, olive oil, the elixir of Greece, is used liberally in cooking and salads, and drizzled over most dips and dishes. Many tavernas use their own oil.

Dolmades

Each region in Greece, in fact, each household, has its variation on the classic grape leaf-wrapped rice parcel. Eaten as a finger food, some stuffed vine leaves incorporate mincemeat with the long-grain rice, others, simply a heady combination of thyme, dill, fennel, oregano or pine nuts.

Moussaka

Variations on moussaka are found throughout the Mediterranean and Balkans, but the iconic Greek baked dish is based on layering: sautéed aubergine, minced meat fried pureed tomato, onion, garlic and spices like cinnamon and allspice, a bit of potato, and then a final fluffy topping of cheese and béchamel sauce.

Grilled meat

Greeks are master of charcoal-grilled and spit-roasted meats. Souvlaki is still Greece’s favourite fast food, both the gyros and skewered meat versions wrapped in pitta bread, with tomato, onion and lashings of tzatziki. At the taverna, local free-range lamb and pork dominate, though kid goat is also a favourite.

Fresh fish

Settle down at a seaside taverna and eat as locals have since ancient times. Fish and calamari fresh from the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas are incredibly tasty and cooked with minimum fuss – grilled whole and drizzled with ladholemono (a lemon and oil dressing). Flavoursome smaller fish such as barbounia (red mullet) and maridha (whitebait) are ideal lightly fried.

Courgette balls (kolokythokeftedes)

Sometimes in the form of a patty, sometimes in a lightly fried ball, make sure to try these starters any chance you get. The body of the fritter is usually made of grated or pureed courgette blended with dill, mint, or other top-secret spice combinations. Paired with tzatziki, for its cooling freshness, you just can’t lose.

Octopus

Along harbours, octopus hung out to dry like washing is one of the iconic images of Greece. Grilled or marinated, it makes a fine meze (appetiser), or as an entree stew it in wine sauce and serve it with pasta.

Feta & cheeses

When in Greece, be sure to sample the vast array of fresh cheeses. Ask behind market counters for feta kept in big barrels, creamy and delicious (nothing like the one in plastic tubs in markets outside of Greece). Or, sample graviera, a hard golden-white cheese, perfect eaten cubed, or fried as saganaki. At bakeries you’ll find tyropita (cheese pie), at tavernas, salads like Cretan dakos, which is topped with a crumbling of mizithra, a soft, white cheese.

Honey & baklava

Greeks love their sweets, often based on olive oil and honey combinations, with flaky filo pastry. The classic baklava is a start, layering honey, filo and ground nuts. Or try galaktoboureko, a sinful custard-filled pastry. Simply, pour a lovely dollop of local thyme honey over fresh Greek yogurt.

Comments, questions and tips

Actually it is taramosalata because it comes from the word taramas which means fish eggs and the word salata which means salad. In the Greek language happens something called sineresi in Greek. It is when two words become one and some letters in the end of the first word and some at the beginning of the second one dissapear or change

shonoli

11th May, 2016

Oh please dont call it just greek dishes, they are also turkish. Maybe its better call ''Aegean food'' or ''Ottoman food''

John Lewis

10th Aug, 2016

Shonoli, there is a culinary continuum from Greece through to Iran. I like to call it HelRoByzArPerOtic cuisine. When the Turks arrived in Anatolia they had first come into contact with the Persians who significantly affected their till then nomadic cuisine. Of course, Hellenistic Greeks had been there more than 1000 years earlier. The Byzantine Greeks inherited cuisine from the ancient Greeks ( austere ) and Romans ( decandent ) but given their Christian religion ( again austere ) did not contribute much to it. When the Arabs expanded they overran lands that had been for over 1000 years part of the Greco-Roman world and the people had shared in its culinary culture. When the Turks arrived in Anatolia they mixed with the Byzantines for about 300 years before the Fall of Constantinople. So Turks and Greeks were already sharing recipes - including Persian and Arab recipes. The Byzantine world included the Balkans which together with what we call Greece today all became part of the Ottoman Empire. What the Ottomans brought to all this pre-existing cuisine was probably two things 1) magnificence ( old dishes made fancy for the Sultan's court ) and 2) new ingredients that the Ottomans were among the first to include into their cuisine. Greeks (or Rum as Turks called them) held a unique position in the Ottoman administration and although frequently segregated actually mingled intimately as well. Recipes were shared between Greek and Turkish women. When Ataturk and Venizelos agreed to separate the populations in 1922 it was hard to tell a Greek from a Turk ( especially an Aegean Turk ). Religion was the only criteria - not cuisine for sure. But the Turkish pogroms against their one-time Greek next door neighbors led to a Greek diaspora. Greeks fled Anatolia taking these shared recipes to Western Europe and America. So baklava and caciki became known as Greek food. We can argue the origin of a dish but in the case of Greeks and Turks it is moot - one must appreciate that these recipes evolved over time and almost 1000 years of this time has been shared. It is amazing how food reflects history and how recipes like friendship are shared from the heart.

Aheadoftime27

12th Jul, 2016

Oh come now - the Greeks were eating most of these dishes before the a ottomans where even in Asia Minor.. Just because Turks eat food that is similar to the food they found when they invaded Greek lands does not make them Ottoman..

debbieor9445

17th Sep, 2015

what about Soutzoukakia this has been missed

KopiasteToGreek...

18th May, 2015

There are so many other wonderful food one MUST try when visiting Greece. I will focus on all the fresh fish and seafood, which are delicious. There is a great variety to choose from such as seabass, grouper, red mullet, seabream etc. Ask for fried gavros (anchovies) or fried marida (picarel) and of course fried Kalamarakia (squid), which are the cheapest and the best.
By the way TaramOsalata is written with an O and not TaramAsalata, as all foreigners or Greeks living abroad make this mistake often.
As a dessert, don't miss galaktoboureko.

karenhirst

16th Jul, 2014

You've missed off pastitsio !

lizzie_o

16th Jul, 2014

I know it's a bit dirty, but you can't beat a pita gyros with a nice cold beer as a quick snack/ lunch

Michael Hoath

4th Jul, 2014

Don't forget the gorgeous Greek salad! I've never had tomatoes as nice as the ones you get in Greece. Combined with cucumber, onion, olives and wonderful feta cheese is a simple yet stunning salad smothered in olive oil and oregano.

culinaryflavors

4th Jul, 2014

Also, try the cretan dakos and the sfakiani pita. The first is a salad, the second is a sweet and savory pancake with mizithra!

Pages

Be the first to ask a question about this recipe...Unsure about the cooking time or want to swap an ingredient? Ask us your questions and we’ll try and help you as soon as possible. Or if you want to offer a solution to another user’s question, feel free to get involved...

Reader offer: AO.com

Ads by Google

Skills & know how

As well as helping you decide what to cook we can also help you to cook it. From tips on cookery techniques to facts and information about health and nutrition, we’ve a wealth of foodie know how for you to explore.

About BBC Good Food

We’re all about good recipes, and about quality home cooking that everyone can enjoy. Whether you’re looking for some healthy inspiration or learning how to cook a decadent dessert, we’ve trustworthy guidance for all your foodie needs.

Our recipes

All our recipes are tested thoroughly by us to make sure they’re suitable for your kitchen at home. We know many of you are concerned about healthy eating, so we send them to a qualified nutritionist for thorough analysis too.

This website is made by BBC Studios.

BBC Studios is a commercial company that is owned by the BBC. No money from the licence fee was used to create this website. The profits we make from it go back to the BBC to help fund great new BBC programmes.